I see "artist" as being a very broad term. What we are dealing with is more along the lines of visual art, but we also consider artists to be people who are really skilled in some sort of practice or craft. This can be incredibly inclusive and count towards lawyers, doctors, mathematicians, etc. But perhaps being skilled in something is too vague to be labeled as the type of artist we are talking about. I consider an artist to be someone who uses creativity and innovation within their skill to hopefully convey some sort of message that is up for interpretation. I create art for the same reason I define art: I have creativity, innovation, and a drive for conveying a message visually. Being so involved in a project that requires hours, perhaps days of my time to turn into a tangible piece that can hang forever on a wall to be up for interpretation for the rest of eternity brings me great satisfaction. If I couldn’t physically make art, I would probably go on to work in some black and white marketing firm where I am crunching numbers constantly to forecast future sales for some company that could care less about my existence. The hours and hours of work sitting at a computer would only be represented by the ink that sits typed on computer paper, filed away in some filing cabinet. Well, that was my original plan when I came to college, but thankfully art saved me from such a hell.

Beginning a new piece all starts in my mind at first, until I reach the point where my mind is making my idea so complex that I must write it down. It takes a great deal of imagination to conjure up thoughts. I can’t always be so lucky to just have a brilliant idea create itself solely in my mind. I spend a lot of time looking through books or websites of admired artists to help invoke inspiration. From that point on, my plans are all on paper. I love being able to come back to old pages with ideas that had fallen through at the time, but suddenly finding a new light in that old plan and pushing it forward.

I base a lot of my success from pure self-satisfaction with my work. However, I cannot forget that the art I practice is visual, and thus will be on display somewhere for people to see, to interpret. A part of my success is the feedback I receive from my peers in critique. It’s especially useful to hear feedback from people who also practice the same art I do. Everyone’s opinion matters, but it’s my photo and design peers that aid me to get to the next step in my work. In photography, my work is not successful if I’m not happy with it. If someone misinterprets the message I am trying to convey, that’s okay with me. It’s their interpretation of something I created that’s, well, up for interpretation. Design is different though. Graphic design, assumed in most contexts, is not so much up for interpretation (and this is very situational). Likely, a graphic designer is going to be given an assignment to use their skill to convey a specific message, and if this message is not clear, then the piece is unsuccessful. I would presume this more in commercial design. Note: I am not saying this is true for all graphic design. With my experience, this is just one of the differences I have noticed between the two arts.

Making art does get tough. Ideas fall through, or ideas just suck when you have everything said and done. Sometimes I’m too far into an idea to back out, so I try to make the best of what I have, and just pat myself on the back and say, “This is a learning experience, don’t do it again.” If I catch myself in a rut early enough, I just keep researching and keep absorbing all of the information and inspiration that is out there for me. I keep reminding myself that this is what I want to do with my life. If I can’t overcome these obstacles now, then what happens when I have a real job and I have a specific assignment that I get stuck on?

I’m always out to challenge myself. If my practice ever became easy, then the thrill of it all would die. I’m always out to look for new processes and new techniques that will make my work more worthwhile. Settling in a comfort zone is a block to the creative flow. I take my photography and design and ask myself, “How can I make it better? Can this be pushed further?”

Specifically, I draw a lot of my inspiration from Sandy Skoglund, a photographer who physically builds her sets to convey a constructed reality, no photoshop used. I also find a lot of inspiration in the works of Robert and Shana Parkeharrison who also construct their work outside of photoshop. This is ironic because most of my work uses photoshop to some extreme, but I admire these works because they are out to create some sort of surreal reality or situation, and I feel like my work reflects that. I also find a lot of inspiration in media, whether it’s fashion photography or commercial design.

Back in high school when I first started playing with my dad’s 35 mm pentax film camera, I didn’t even begin to fathom that those first couple of shots I took would stir up an interest in me that has ultimately determined my career and my passion. To me, it was just taking pictures, and it was fun. It wasn’t until I started getting incredibly positive feedback from my instructors when I realized that I was decent at taking good photographs. My knowledge of photography skill and materials turned into my passion to be an artist, and it was not something I planned. I found something that I was good at. Not only did I find self satisfaction in what I was doing, but I was giving satisfaction to people who viewed my photographs.

I’d always envisioned myself in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. I’ve always loved business, more specifically advertising. I even gave the business school a chance, but when I realized that business school didn’t offer the type of advertising I’m interested in, I turned to my interest in art and photography. At the time, photo was only going to be a minor, but my knowledge in the practice and my increasing talent was too hard to be ignored. I love design. I love creating visuals and setting up a system to create a print that conveys a message. I love photography. My goals as an artist are to eventually work at a prestigious advertising agency where I can integrate my photography with graphic design. However, I am not planning on throwing away my practice in the fine arts to become static and commercial. I chose to be in the Fine Arts program because I feel like being a fine photographer is much stronger than being a journalistic photographer. Majoring in the fine arts has forced me to study art history, 2 dimensional art, 3 dimensional art, paintings, drawings, historical movements in art history: all of which have sculpted me to be the photographer that I am. This is the type of training that no ordinary photography class can give you. I have studied how art has evolved in the past, and now it is my duty to take contemporary photography and design today and to push it towards whatever era comes next.